Legend of Zelda: Shattered Mirror
by Amelia Hart
Summary: Set after Twilight Princess.  Link is broken when Midna shatters the mirror.  He tries to return to a normal life, but he can't shake these dreams he keeps having.  Can he fix what's been broken?
1. Prologue

As the last mirror shard hit the ground a resounding echo filled Link's ears. What...what had just happened? Had she... really...broke the _only_ connection between their worlds? How could she? Midna...his best friend... his only companion. All the help he'd given her and...and... he finally got to see who she truly was... her stunning beauty... and she left him. She left... Left him alone. Alone.

_Alone. So alone_.

Midna...

..._Midna_...

He couldn't breathe. His insides were being twisted into knots. Her name on his trembling lips, whispered so softly only his ears could hear. But he couldn't breathe. Who would ever hear his words if he couldn't breathe? His chest hurt. His throat burned. He couldn't see through the tears in his eyes. So much pain. He couldn't stand it. He couldn't _stand_. He sunk to his knees, digging into the shards of the broken mirror of twilight. He couldn't feel it though. He felt numb. He felt numb yet so full of pain. How was it possible to feel both? How was it possible that she was _gone_? He wrapped his arms around himself, as if trying to hold himself together. He had to, or he would fall apart. Crumble. He was already losing his lungs, he was certain. They couldn't be all there. Turned to stone and crumbling. They'd half crumbled already because there wasn't enough room for air in there. He was gasping for it. For breath. A horrible rasping, gulping sound. He couldn't seem to draw enough air in. There was so much constriction. He could taste blood in his mouth. It must be his own blood. He really _was_ crumbling. Shattering, just like the mirror. Maybe if he just let himself shatter, he could go where _she_ was, be with her. Midna. Everything was fading to black, and he thought he could hear her calling his name.

"Link!"

He felt her touch and relief came over him. To shatter like the mirror was to be with her. They could still be together. She was so beautiful.

* * *

Zelda watched the mirror shatter and solace covered her like a warm blanket. To shatter the mirror was to prevent such horror from happening to the kingdom again. Midna had been brave. She'd made a tough decision, but in the end, Zelda knew, it had been the right decision. For both of their realms. Midna would go home, to rule her kingdom in peace, finally, and Zelda, she would return Hyrule to the way it once was. She smiled to herself and bent down to pick up a tiny piece of the shattered mirror. Folding her hands around it, she prayed to the goddesses for peace to be upon both of their kingdoms. And for brave Midna to be happy in her true form again.

She couldn't pray for long, however. She was distracted by an odd choking noise coming from her right. Opening her eyes, she looked toward the sound and saw Link, crumpled on the ground. Goddesses he was hurt! Of course he was hurt! No human could have possibly fought Ganondorf- so strong and so powerful and not sustain serious injuries. Zelda cursed herself for being ignorant of his needs and rushed to his side.

"Link!" she called. "Are you alright? What hurts?" She touched his shoulder gently and his gasping lessened. She withdrew her hand with shock. She hadn't expected him to be so tense. He was surely in a great deal of pain.

She stood, with strict determination on her face, prayed to the Goddesses and quickly transported Link and herself to the best doctor she knew in the kingdom. Not the lazy, grumpy doctor in castle town, no, Link needed serious help. She transported him to Renado of Kakariko village.


	2. Kingdom Hearts

**Hello all new readers! I realized I needed to add a note in here as a disclaimer that I do not own the Legend of Zelda or any of the characters. Except for the characters I made up. But they are minor characters. Also, if anyone would like to be a beta reader for me, I do need one. I am well aware that I have problems with speeding the story along at a bit too fast of pace. So help slowing it down would be a great help to me! ****I hope you enjoy the story!**

* * *

Renado felt the shift in the atmosphere almost instantly. He'd always been very much in tune with nature. Whatever it was that had been troubling the kingdom was gone. The darkness had lifted. He sighed with relief. It would finally be safe for the Ordon children to go home and be with their families. He thought of the young man, Link. He'd sensed something deep within the boy. He was much more than a respected mentor to the Ordon children. There was an ancient power within him. So much courage. Renado was certain that the boy had had some sort of hand in the lifting of the darkness. He sensed it within his very soul. He knelt to send a prayer of thanks to the Goddesses.

He'd barely said his amens when he heard a shuffling outside his door. Perhaps it was the children, wanting to see him. He opened the door to greet them and found himself face to face with Princess Zelda.

"Why, Princess! Your majesty!" Renado bowed with respect, "What a surprise to see you here! What is the matter?" he asked, seeing the worry on her pretty face.

"It's Link!" she said, motioning to the boy laying on the ground behind her. Renado looked over her shoulder. "I believe he is very hurt. He's just fought in a terrible battle. I'm certain it is a miracle he's survived. Can you help him?"

Renado nodded, and walked over to Link, gently lifting him in his arms. He carried the boy into sanctuary and placed him gently on the rug. Kneeling, he carefully lifted the boy's tunic and examined the skin beneath. There were certainly many bruises, minor cuts, some deeper cuts. But it appeared that he had defended himself fairly well. Renado treated the minor wounds and then examined his arms and legs, again only finding one cut that was somewhat serious. He bandaged it carefully.

"Has he received a blow to the head?" Renado asked Zelda, who paced the room in worry.

"I...I'm not sure. I did not see the whole battle. I was..." Zelda chose her words carefully here, not wanting to reveal she had been possessed by the demonic Ganondorf. "unconscious for part of it."

Renado lifted an eyebrow, "Are you all right, your majesty?"

"Me? Of course, I'm fine. It is him I am worried about."

Renado nodded and turned back to the boy. He carefully removed the boy's green cap and examined his forehead. He ran his fingers through Link's hair, looking for any cuts or bleeding. Nothing. Nothing seemed swollen. Good.

Renado stood, dusting his hands against his legs. He turned back to the princess who was wringing her hands as she paced. "There is nothing of real concern that I can find," he said.

Zelda sighed in relief, tension leaving her shoulders. "Oh, good. But..." she paused now, looking over at Link's sleeping face, "I don't understand then, he collapsed, he seemed in such pain...He was gasping..." her voice trailed off as realization began to dawn on her. "Oh!" she squeaked, her hand flying to her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. "Nayru, I am foolish! Midna!"

"Pardon?"

Zelda rushed to Link's side and brushed her hand through his hair. "Not physical pain," she whispered, tears filling her eyes, "emotional pain." Zelda reached for Link's limp hand and pulled it toward her, examining the triforce mark he shared with her. "After all you've been through," she whispered again, "what takes you down is nothing you could have trained for."

Sensing that he was no longer needed, and was watching something personal, Renado quietly slipped out of the sanctuary. Twilight had long since passed and the night air had become crisp and cool. Renado inhaled the fresh air deeply and looked up at the twinkling stars. Somewhere up there, the goddesses were looking down, pleased at the return of peace. _But at what cost?_ Renado thought with a heavy heart. He could only rely on his intuition. But his intuition told him that someone had had to lose. He sensed sadly that it may very well have been Link himself. Link was a selfless, brave boy. He'd helped the village numerous times. He'd helped the Gorons, thus helping Kakariko. He'd donated much money to the bridge fund and the fund for Malo's store in castle town. He'd checked in on the children frequently and Ilia... he'd be heartbroken about Ilia's memory loss, it was clear. He'd helped the Zora boy. He'd rescued Colin. It seemed the boy had done nothing for himself. Everything he did had always been for others. And he was certain there was more he had not seen. That showed his true courage.

Renado shook his head dolefully and walked to the inn. He would have to sleep there tonight. He slipped quietly inside, shutting the door softly behind him so as not to wake the sleeping children. He tread softly across the floor and sat on one of the empty beds. He sighed.

"Renado?" he heard a whisper from across the room. It was Colin. "What are you doing here?"

Renado shook his head, even though Colin couldn't see it in the dark. "Do not worry, son, go back to sleep," he whispered back before settling into the bed. But he didn't sleep. And neither did Colin.

* * *

The day awoke with a peaceful serenity in the village. A rooster crowed from a rooftop and Zelda woke from her slumber. She hadn't realized that she had fallen asleep and her body was quite stiff and sore from lying on the hard ground next to Link. Link! She gasped and sat up quickly, twisting around to see if he had woken. She was surprised to see a young boy sitting next to him, hugging his knees and looking nervously at the still sleeping young man. He glanced at Zelda and blushed deeply.

"Good-good m-morning, your majesty!" he stuttered, his eyes wide and mouth open in awe at the Princess of Hyrule. He scrambled to his feet just to bow down to her.

Zelda smiled and pat the boy's head. "Good morning. Please. You needn't bow to me." She gestured to Link, "Is he your friend?" Zelda had to admit, she wouldn't have been at all surprised to find children admired and looked up to Link.

Colin nodded jerkily. "Yes. Is he hurt?"

Zelda sighed and gazed at Link for a long while. "Yes. I suppose... in a very deep way."

Colin gasped and leapt at Link, his arms wrapping around his hero's neck. Tears streamed down Colin's face. "But...but... he can do anything! He can't be hurt! Could he... might he die?"

Zelda looked at the young boy sadly. "No, he's not hurt like that. He has been through much. He is weary. He has seen things no human should have to see."

Colin sat back on his knees, quickly wiping his tears on his sleeve. He seemed relieved, but still worried. Zelda smiled at him. He was a sweet boy. "Oh!" she gasped, "I'm so sorry, I haven't introduced myself. Forgive me. My name is Zelda. And you are?" She held out a graceful hand to the child.

Colin laughed, took her hand and shook it. "You don't need to introduce yourself. Everyone knows you're Princess Zelda! My name is Colin," he added shyly, "Pleased to meet you, your highness."

"Please, just call me Zelda. Anyone who is a friend of Link's is a friend of mine," she smiled kindly at the young boy and stood up, stretching. Goodness, she was very stiff. She wasn't used to sleeping on such hard ground. She'd always been blessed with fluffy feather mattresses and clean sheets. Link must have slept on the ground a lot.

Zelda sighed. She knew she should get back to Hyrule. She was certain the castle was in chaos. And even more certain that someone had noticed that she was missing. That would certainly create quite the panic. Summoning the powers of the goddesses, she quickly sent a telepathic message to her servant that she was fine and not to worry about her, she would be back at the castle by the afternoon.

There was a curt knock at the door and Renado entered, carrying a tray with some breakfast on it. He glanced at Link.

"So he hasn't woken yet. Let him rest. He must be very weary," he looked to Zelda and Colin. Renado had suspected Colin had wandered over in the middle of the night curious to know why Renado was sleeping at the inn. Renado didn't worry himself over it. Colin had grown much in the last year and had shown great maturity compared to Talo and Beth. "Would you like some breakfast, Princess?" He asked, nodding toward the tray he held.

Zelda smiled. "I'm famished."

As they ate, the three chatted lightly. Zelda enjoyed Colin's company and Renado's presence made her feel peaceful. But she couldn't help but glance out the window once in awhile, trying to see how high the sun was in the sky. Renado, sensing her worry for getting back to the castle spoke up.

"I'm sure you need to return to the castle, Princess. Please don't worry about Link. I will care for him. He is in good hands. We will watch over him. Return to the kingdom. You are needed there."

Zelda gave Renado a relieved smile. "Thank you, Renado. Allow me to repay you," she said, slipping her hand into a deep pocket in the folds of her skirts.

Renado held up a hand. "No. Do not worry about repayment. You have done much for us. It is I who should repay you, Princess. It is my duty to watch after the residents of our village. I am pleased to watch over him. He has helped us so much. It is the least I can do."

Zelda nodded. "Very well. Farewell, then. I shall send you a letter once I return. Again, thank you. Take care."

She slipped out of the sanctuary and was gone in the blink of an eye.

* * *

Midna's first step into the Twilight realm filled her with a jumble of emotions. She was happy to be home. But nervous about her return- what would the Twili say about her being gone for so long? She felt sad for leaving Link behind.

Link... A single tear slipped down her cheek. He had been her slave, her lifeline, her companion, her best friend. They had been inseparable. Any normal human being would have rebelled. Refused to do everything she asked. She expected the same from Link, at first. After all, when she'd approached others with her tasks she'd gotten such reactions. _If I help you what's in it for me?_ That was what they would always ask. And then, she'd lose her temper tell them she didn't need them, why did she have to do everything herself, everyone else is too stupid and so on. Stupid humans. She hated humans.

But Link, in a way, he'd been in the same situation as she was. He wanted his body back. She wanted her body back. She also wanted her powers, her kingdom and the defeat of Zant. She wanted to be home. And she would do anything to get it back. Even if she had to use Link to get there. Even if she had to turn against him later.

How could she have been so selfish? She'd fully intended to destroy him and Zelda. Yet they had both been so selfless for her. Link had never asked questions. Once he'd fully gotten his body back, he could have left her on her own. He could have left her when she gotten the fused shadows and her power back. He could have left her there to die when Zant had used his powers on her. He'd fulfilled his own obvious goal of getting his body back. But he'd agreed to help her. He'd agreed to help the Gorons, the Zoras, the Hyrulians, the little old lady in the lost village. He helped everyone. For no gain of his own. To help _her_. Midna. She'd never met anyone so selfless as he was. And he'd never complained once. Even when she'd pushed him so hard. Even when he couldn't go on...

Midna didn't want to think about that time. She shook her head.

She'd never met someone she had so much respect for. She respected him even more than she respected Zelda. She respected them _both_ more than she respected even herself.

She looked back at the shattered mirror. It was no use feeling regret now. What was done was done. It'd been quite the adventure. Like they always say, it's not the destination, it's the journey. And she'd met some wonderful people on the way. But her place was here in her kingdom, in her own realm. And she'd prevented anything like this from ever happening again by shattering that mirror. That was what was most important now. It was time to return to her kingdom.

Midna wasn't sure what she would be up against when she entered the palace. What had been going on here while she was gone? Which parts of the Twilight realm had fallen to the Light realm and which parts had stayed? Which parts had Zant completely fucked up and which parts were still left untouched? And what would the Twili's reaction to her return be? Would they be happy to see her again?

She admitted she may have not been the kindest princess before. She _may_ have taken advantage of her position once or twice or fifty times to get what she wanted. She _might possibly_ have enjoyed ordering people around. She _may_ have never _fully_ cared about some of those other Twilight Realm tribes. But she was certainly a better ruler than Zant. Right?

She was a changed woman now though. She wanted to set things right, once and for all. She wanted to follow Zelda's peaceful, selfless example. With renewed confidence, she pulled back her shoulders and lifted her chin high. She stepped into the village surrounding the palace.

Her presence had always demanded respect and attention. But now, her presence delivered shock as well. Silence fell instantly the moment she entered the town. Twili parted a path for her. They all fell to their knees, bowing, creating a wave as she walked. She'd forgotten what it felt like to have people look upon her with respect. The feeling shocked her. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She realized she didn't _want_ them to feel the need to bow down to her. She didn't want to _demand_ that anymore.

"Please, stand and face me," she called to her people. They hesitated and with a murmur that stretched through the crowd, they slowly got to their feet. Staring at the princess. Midna smiled and nodded at them, and began walking toward the palace.

One Twili man reached out and touched her robes as she passed by, "Princess Midna, you've returned!" he cried out and she stopped. She reached for his hands and gave them a squeeze. Everyone was shocked. Never before had she shown such appreciation for the people.

When she reached the entrance to the palace, she turned and waved at everyone. She smiled widely, and then, to everyone's amazement, she got to her knees and bowed to _them_. The town roared to life with amazed chatter.

Midna turned to the guards who stood at the doors of the palace. She smiled gently at them.

"Princess," they muttered as they swung the heavy doors open for her.

"Thank you, gentlemen," she said to them. They both looked at each other in shock as she passed by them. Never before had she offered them thanks for such a simple task as opening a door. Could it be that she had changed so much in just one year?

The mood shifted, however, once she entered the palace and even more when she entered the royal council chamber. A deafening silence greeted Midna when she entered the room. All eyes were on her, and if she was reading them accurately, not all of them were pleased to see her. The chancellor, Ardane, who sat at the head of the grand table, spoke first.

"Why Princess, what a shock to see you," he said with a subtle tone of sarcasm in his voice.

"I imagine it is," Midna replied calmly.

"Where exactly have you been, Midna? Things haven't exactly been peaceful around here and you just up and disappear for a year! When we need you the most!" This is what Midna liked about Ardane. He was up front and didn't sugar coat his true feelings. He laid them on the table for all to see. Especially the ones who needed to see them most.

"You are right to be upset, Ardane," Midna said, then nodded at the rest of the council, "all of you."

Midna sat in a chair amongst the council, not demanding the chair at the head of the table as she would have a year ago if someone was sitting in it. Then again, no one would have dared do such a thing then. "If you would allow me to explain?"

"This had better be good," Ardane grumbled.

Midna told them what had happened to her in the last year. She told of how she'd been turned into an imp by Zant and had to seek help from the light world dwellers, Princess Zelda and Link particularly. She told of how they were blessed with the powers from the Goddesses. How she needed Link's help to gather the fused shadows. And then again to gather the pieces of the shattered mirror. She told of how Zant had been gaining power through Ganondorf, the last member of the triforce and the most dangerous one.

She left out many of the details, but the council didn't need to know about how she had found friends in the Light world, how she had planned on turning on Link and Zelda, the personal bonds she had formed...

"I'm afraid," she said, "I made a very grave mistake in appointing Zant as chancellor. When things began taking a turn for the worse, I knew my error. His views were radical and terrible. But I could never have imagined he was teaming with the king of the darkness, Ganondorf. However, history shall not repeat itself. I have shattered the Mirror of Twilight and thus have prevented our realm from interacting with the light realm. With this disconnect, the triforce stays in the light world, never to try again to infiltrate the twilight realm. Fear not, council, I have done everything in my power to protect this kingdom."

The council gasped at this news.

"_You've shattered the Mirror of Twilight?_" Ardane screeched. "You have sworn our people to eternal Twilight! To destroy the connection with the Light world is to accept our banishment _from_ the Light world!"

Midna stood, a determined expression fixed on her face, "Have we not banished ourselves by our desire to war with the Light world all these years? We have deliberately separated ourselves from their world by being angry with the generations not responsible for our banishment. To win such a war does not allow us back into the Light world, but for the Light world to become a part of the twilight realm. Let us keep the realms separate and keep the past in the past. We must admit that we have become an entirely different culture after so many years of separation! Our form is unique to the Twilight realm."

"You are wrong," Ardane said flatly to the surprise of the other council members who had been enraptured by Midna's speech. "You have eliminated the choice. To eliminate choice is to eliminate freedom. It is a basic right!"

"What choice is there? No one from our realm wants to be in the Light world. Our powers are sapped, our true form altered, creating fright in all the people who know not what we are, who we are. Who would _want_ to go there? We are not living to our fullest potential there. Just as the Light would not live to their fullest potential here. Moreover, do we really want another Zant/ Ganondorf episode repeated? I have been, Ardane, I have experienced. The Twilight is our home, where our species is one with nature."

Midna sat and gazed around at the other council members. She understood Ardane's concern. However, she feared some of his concern echoed Zant's beliefs. She felt nervous about that.

"Well," Ardane sighed heavily, "After a year under Zant's rule, he perhaps manipulated our beliefs that the Light world was a better, richer place, that the people there hate the Twili, that is why we've been so banished. I fear the destruction of the mirror has also denied the chance for peace between the two realms."

Midna nodded, "The Light world is a beautiful and wonderful place. The people hate the Twili only because of what Zant placed on them. But they know nothing of the actual Twilight. They were turned into spirits if Twilight fell on their part of the land. They only knew of horrible monsters, strange events. Please worry no more about peace among the realms. There is peace and understanding between Princess Zelda and I. We would always be welcome to return if we wanted to."

"Then I am saddened to not have the opportunity."

"I understand," Midna said. "I am sorry. My actions were based solely on what I believed would protect our kingdom now and in the future."

"I question your motives," Ardane said, steepling his hands and pressing them under his chin in deep thought. "Forgive me, Princess, but in the past your ruling often suggested decisions based on placing personal wants before the needs of the kingdom. How do we know that such a decision was made for the kingdom?"

Midna was taken aback. "You don't," she said thoughtfully. It had suddenly occurred to her that had she not been able to return, that Ardane may have become King. Surely the decision had been partially underway, with Zant destroyed a few weeks prior. Ardane was critical and rational. These were good qualities to have. I likely would have made a good King. But perhaps being critical and rational were part of his downfalls as a king as well. He lacked emotional understanding, and that was crucial to understand the people of the kingdom and their needs. Midna understood this now.

"You don't know. But you can put your trust in me," she continued. "This last year has been eye opening for me. I understand things about ruling a kingdom that I hadn't before. I have changed, and I believe, for the better. I would like for my actions to speak louder than my words, however. Will you let me?"

She gazed around at the council members. Was she asking permission to be accepted as their ruler again? As though they had a choice? This _was_ different indeed.

An elderly council member spoke up next, "Princess, we have always respected you as our ruler. You are the true heir, and we are more than pleased to have you return. Some of us thought you to be dead. You have always made sound decisions for our kingdom."

Midna shook her head, "Thank you, but I'm afraid Ardane is correct that I have in the past made some decisions for myself rather than the kingdom. But I do wish to change that." She smiled around at the council members, then stood, "Please forgive me, for I must retire to my chambers now. I am weary from a long day and our time schedules are opposite the Light world."

It was true. She had left Link and Zelda as twilight settled on their land. And she was returning to the Twilight realm as the day was just beginning. As if to show how very tired she was, she yawned and bid the council a good day and retired to her chambers, which thankfully, had been left unchanged.

She called for her servant, Soli, but not to bring her a meal or to help her ready herself for bed. Soli entered the room shyly.

"Princess! You have returned! I've missed you greatly! I'd thought you dead, truthfully," she said, crying and bowing deeply.

"Soli, please, do not feel you need to bow to me again. I'd like if you would address me as Midna from now on. Please come, sit next to me. Tell me what has happened since I left?" Midna said with a smile, patting the bed next to her. Be nice to those around her, especially those under her. That was her new motto and she would start with the servant she saw most. After all, if Link had been a part of the Twilight realm, wouldn't he have been considered to be under her?

Soli looked shocked and wary, but sat next to Midna nervously. "I'm sure you know about Zant. He was a cruel leader. If we disobeyed he would use his powers against us. It was a dark dark time, Miss, very dark." She wiped a sleeve against her wet eyes. Then added quietly, confirming Midna's suspicions, "Rumor has it that Ardane was planned to take your place as ruler of the kingdom if you did not return." She giggled nervously, "But you know rumors! They're just talk!"

Midna nodded, "I suspected as such. And I plan on allowing the council full choice in the matter. I will not speak badly of Ardane. He would be a suitable leader for this kingdom as well."

"I am but a simple girl, but please, Miss, you have been a wonderful leader for our kingdom. I'm sure I speak for most of the kingdom when I say this, we want you to return to the throne."

"Thank you for your kind words, Soli, but I must admit I hadn't always acted with the Kingdoms best interests at heart. I intend to change this though. If I am chosen again."

"But of course you will! How could you think otherwise? You have always been my princess, even when Zant was here. I always had hope you would return. You are tired, Miss," Soli noted Midna's yawn, "I will leave you to sleep. Is there anything you would like me to bring you?"

Midna smiled at Soli sadly. "Thank you, Soli, you are too kind. I am fine. Take the day off, you deserve it."

Soli smiled, thanked her and left the room in a rush. Midna wondered if she was still secretly seeing that boy in the palace town. She smiled and lay down. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.


	3. Return to Ordon

**Author(ess'?) note: W00t an update! Ok for real this is an accomplishment. Amelia Hart is a busy girl as a full time teacher (who isn't getting paid -_-) full time student and also working part time on the weekends. It's hard to find time to write but I'm trying really hard I swear! So this chapter... made me cry. I'm a sensitive heart. Also I must apologize for any miss spelled words or bad grammar. My computer crashed a few months ago and I lost microsoft word with it. I'm using Open office now, which does ok, but it doesn't catch miss spellings and it REALLY doesn't catch sentence fragments. Which I'm renowned for. -See? I even noticed in my last few chapters that I not only did this once, but TWICE: I spelled Kakariko Karkariko. Fail. So I appreciate it when people tell me I make myself look like an idiot. Ok ok I'll shut up now so you can read. But before I do that I must add in the necessary:**

**Disclaimer- I do not own The Legend of Zelda even though I really wish I did because I would be rich and also a really awesome person. Wait, maybe I do and just make tons of typos on things I should know about like how to spell Kakariko Village. Or not. But it'd be cool. **

**Ok! Enjoy!**

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* * *

**Link disliked being fussed over. He'd spent the last year being the hero for the land of Hyrule. He was more than capable of taking care of himself. He'd fought monsters that were more than triple his size. He'd walked away from the fight with Ganondorf with little more than a few scratches. But Ilia would not let him walk across the room, go downstairs, and sit at a regular table and have a bowl of soup. She had taken to waiting on him hand and foot.

Not that he wasn't happy to see her and spend time with her, but this had to stop. As it was, Ilia was sitting in a chair next to him, trying to spoon feed soup into his mouth and Link was having a very difficult time not glaring at her.

"Ilia, I can feed myself. Can I please hold the spoon myself?"

"Are you sure? Do you feel ok enough for that?" Ilia looked at him, concerned.

"Yes, Ilia, for the hundredth time, I'm _fine_. There's nothing _wrong_ with me!"

She handed him the bowl of soup and spoon warily. Link took them and immediately set them on the small side table next to the bed. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "I'm going to go eat at the table with everyone else."

"Link!" Ilia shouted, her tiny form blocking him from moving. "You need your rest! Get back in bed!" she demanded, pushing his chest and forcing him to sit back on the bed. She picked up the soup bowl and shoved it in back in his hands. "Eat and rest," she said more softly now, giving him a gentle smile.

Link scowled but took the bowl and ate sullenly. There was no middle ground for him. On one hand, he had Ilia who was over-protective of him and on the other, Midna, forcing him to do more than his body could handle. Frankly, he would prefer Midna's attitude over Ilia's at the moment.

Midna...

It felt strange to not have her ever lasting presence at his side. He'd grown so used to having her there. She'd wanted to make things right _so badly_ and he'd wanted to help her get home. It hadn't been part of his plan that she would shatter that mirror. After all they'd been through together, he didn't even have the freedom to visit his best friend? He didn't even have the freedom to switch forms... she'd taken that stone too. It made sense. There was some powerful magic in that stone. But still. Being a wolf had it's advantages. And there was a certain freedom of movement. He was certainly faster. It had become such an interconnected part of his being in the past year. Even that was no longer an option.

"Do you feel alright, Link? You don't look well," Ilia interrupted his thoughts. "I knew it! You pushed yourself too hard!"

"What? No! I mean, I'm fine, just... thinking."

Ilia gave him a look but kept her mouth shut, "Alright. Well, I'm going to go downstairs now, can I trust you to _stay in bed?_"

"Yeah, yeah."

He watched her as she left and smiled to himself. He was so glad to have her back to herself. He would take a slightly bossy Ilia over a confused Ilia any day. However, what he really wanted right now was some exercise. It was one thing to be bed-ridden for a reason. It was quite another to be bed-ridden for no reason whatsoever. And he was not one to lay around for no reason.

He wanted to get back to Ordon. Back home. He was certain the children would want to get back to their parents. He could tell Colin was quite homesick, even if he tried not to show it. He imagined Talo and Beth were too, but Talo would never show it. Malo, well... Link wasn't sure about Malo. Where the kid had gotten the smarts to run a shop so efficiently was baffling. Of course his mother ran the shop in Ordon but she didn't always run it all that well, letting personal matters come before the shop at times. Link worried Malo was trying too hard to grow up too fast and he suspected the boy would choose to stay in Kakariko village instead of coming home. The kid was ambitious, Link would give him that.

It would be nice to go back to Ordon, relax a little bit, enjoy life going back to normal. Helping out at the ranch. Finally pursuing things with Ilia...

That was what he wanted, right? He'd spent all this time fighting for peace in Hyrule so life could return to normal, right?

Link shook his head, settled back under the covers and rolled toward the wall. Of course that was what he wanted. Why should he even question that? He'd always been happy and thankful for what he had. Of course he had to be. The townspeople of Ordon were so accepting, so willing to help raise him to be a responsible young man. Link reminded himself to thank Rusl when they next met.

_You have so much to be thankful for, don't be stupid. _He told himself. With that, he slammed his eyes shut and willed sleep to come. This is what too much idle time did to him- made him think too much. Enough of that!

* * *

Ilia woke with the sunrise. Stretching, she smiled softly. She'd had a nice dream that had her in a good mood already today. In the dream, she and Link had been at the Ordon spring, holding hands and laying in the grass gazing at the clouds. She'd been pointing out how a cloud looked like Epona when Link's face blocked her view and he'd leaned in and given her a kiss. Ilia flushed at the thought and rolled over to see if Link was still sleeping. His bed was empty. She gasped and scrambled out of bed.

He'd been there last night when she'd come upstairs. He had already been asleep so she'd fixed his blankets and had given him a quick peck on the cheek before going to bed herself. She was worried about him. He wasn't quite himself. Renado said he didn't have a head injury, but Ilia wondered if that wasn't true. And now he was up wandering around! Men and their stubborn ways!

Ilia threw on a long sweater over her nightgown and slipped her on her shoes after making sure he wasn't in the inn. She slipped quietly outside and looked up and down the street trying to spot him. After a few minutes of wandering around, she found Link sitting up at the hot spring, gazing at the sunrise, looking pensive but healthy.

Ilia approached him cautiously, not wanting to startle him. She kicked a stone by accident and he jumped, instinctively reaching over his shoulder for the sword that wasn't there. He recognized her and relaxed, giving her a soft smile which she returned.

"I guess you're alright then," she said, sitting next to him and gazing at him out of the corner of her eye. He simply nodded. So he was in another one of those moods, Ilia noted.

"So what...what happened?" she asked cautiously. She'd been afraid to ask before, she didn't know why, something about his eyes. But she couldn't hold back any more. He'd clearly walked up here on his own, and she couldn't use his health as an excuse anymore.

"Where should I start?" he asked, solemnly.

She really wanted to know what happened most recently first. But she sensed that was where things got touchy. She wasn't sure. "I suppose from the beginning," she settled.

Link sighed. "It's a long story."

"I've got time."

Link finally looked at her, really looked at her. She'd seen that look before but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Somehow, it felt like her first memories of him, only she knew that her first memories of him were from their childhood. He looked downhearted.

With another sigh and a slow blink, Link lay back on the ground with his arms behind his head and he started from the beginning. He told her how he had been turned into a wolf, how Twilight took over Faron Province, how Midna had found him. He told how he'd met Princess Zelda and the numerous adventures he and Midna had had before they'd met Zant and had put him through a strange dream, how he'd been frightened of her in that dream and even more frightened of himself. He told how Zant had almost killed Midna and had nearly permanently turned Link into a wolf. He told how Zelda had saved Midna's life, and how they'd then gone in search of the Twilight Mirror and found it broken. He talked about how upset Midna had been and then he grew quiet.

"Link?" Ilia asked, nervously. She'd been listening intently, not once interrupting him. She'd been so absorbed by his story that she'd completely lost track of time.

He'd rolled over so his back was to her now. He lay on the ground like this for a few moments and then, with a huff he stood up, "We should head back to Ordon today," he said gruffly.

"What about the rest of the story?"

"There isn't one," he said and walked away.

Ilia followed quietly behind him but said nothing more. She knew she shouldn't push it. But her heart cried out for him. There was so much more to this story than he was telling.

_Oh Link, please open up to me again like you used to. I want to help. Please let me help._

_

* * *

_

When Midna met with the counsel the next day, she felt refreshed and energetic. She wasn't sure what she should expect when she met with them again but she was curious, nonetheless. She did dearly hope they would allow her to be princess once again.

The counsel was silent when she entered the room again. They each had a solemn look on their face that made Midna nervous. She didn't allow them to see that though. She wanted to portray the confident princess that she was supposed to be, so she kept her transparency at bay.

"Good morning," she greeted, taking a seat at the long table. "What business-"

"Princess," the elderly counsel member interrupted her. Midna couldn't remember his name and she felt terribly guilty for this. She made a mental note to make an effort to figure it out. "You shattered the Mirror of Twilight."

"Yes, I did. We spoke of this yesterday." This wasn't off to a great start. Under the table, Midna began to fidget with her robes.

"Only the true leader of the Twilight can shatter the Mirror. You are our Princess and you always will be. You would not have been able to shatter the Mirror if you were not destined to be our true leader. We would be foolish to allow anyone else to rule our kingdom. Please sit at the head of the table."

Midna, who hadn't realized she'd been looking down, shot her gaze up to the head of the table. Indeed, the chair was empty. It was now that she noticed Ardane was not present. She opened her mouth to speak of this.

"Your highness," a young court man said, pulling the chair out for her.

"Please. Do not protest, you deserve this position with our highest respect," another added.

Midna stood. Her hesitation had been misinterpreted, but she made her way to the head seat and sat gracefully. "Thank you, sir," she said quietly. "What is your name again?"

The young court-man blushed, "M-m-my name is Gill, Princess."

"Thank you, Gill. I apologize for not remembering your name, please, take a seat."

"A-a-are you being serious?" Gill stuttered, his mouth hanging open.

"Of course I am!" she didn't understand why this court man was being so hesitant. Young men these days lacked confidence in themselves- to be sure! In the face of royalty, they always acted nervous. It was partially why she had never told Link...

Link...

Midna shook her head quickly and pulled her shoulders back, sniffing.

"What business do we have to attend to today?"

She'd missed the shocked looks on everyone's faces in her distracted thoughts of Link. Everyone cleared their throats, glanced nervously at one another and sat up straighter.

"I have to ask," she added, "but where is our chancellor? Ardane? Why is he not present?"

"Princess, Ardane has been dismissed," said a counsel member. "Fahmeb has been named temporary Chancellor until we find a new one," he said, gesturing toward the eldest counsel member.

Ahh Fahmeb, well at least she'd learned his name now.

"But why? I do not understand. Ardane is a strong member of our counsel!" she said, clenching her hand into a tiny fist and pounded it on the table.

Everyone cleared their throats and glanced nervously at one another. Finally another young counsel member spoke up. "Princess, we all agreed you should return as our princess, but Ardane..." he paused and glanced around the table again. "He fought vehemently against your return."

Midna stood up so fast she nearly knocked her chair over. "As he should! I do not appoint you as leaders for you to agree with everything I do and say! I must say, it is his ability to question things that I appointed him as chancellor in the first place!"

"Princess, Princess, please sit," Fahmeb said wearily. "Ardane has many great qualities, his questioning skills being one of them. I assume you have not heard this, Princess, but Ardane was appointed to take your place if you did not return."

Minda sat back in her seat slowly. "I'd suspected."

"You were not present during much of Zant's ruling, and Ardane appears to you to have been fighting against Zant. But some of us saw the two together late at night more than once. We worry that they were working together in secret. We admit, it is only suspicion and rumor we base this off of, but we worry his motives may be more personal than you think. We worry he might be have become a bit more power hungry. He said some things yesterday that made many of us nervous."

Midna closed her eyes and sat back in her seat, bringing a hand to her forehead. With Zant being as power hungry as he was, she wouldn't be surprised if he had taken on an apprentice. She would imagine it would have been exciting to him to have an admirer, a follower.

"I respect your concern," she finally said slowly, opening her eyes and looking around at everyone at the table. "But I do not wish for my return to rule to start based solely on a rumor. I will summon for Ardane to return tomorrow, to speak with him personally," she said. "Please understand that I want to be fair."

Another counsel member spoke up, "Princess, I'm not sure he will agree to return. When he left yesterday, he was quite livid. He said he had no desire to return as long as you were leader."

Midna sat back thoughtfully again, "I shouldn't have retired so early yesterday, it seems."

"In all fairness, Princess, I do not foresee this having come out if you had been present."

"Ardane has never held back on me in the past," Midna argued.

"We have firm reason to believe he has changed, Princess. He made some lofty threats yesterday."

"HE MADE THREATS?" Midna screeched, standing up again and planting her hands firmly on the table, this time actually knocking her chair over. Gill stood up abruptly to right the chair.

"Sit down, Gill!' Midna ordered, "I'm perfectly capable of picking it up. Have more self respect! You are a counsel member and as such a respected member of this community."

Gill gaped at her and sat hesitantly back in his chair.

"Tell me about these threats!" Midna demanded.

Fahmeb stood now and held his hand up, "Princess calm down. We are sure that he was speaking in anger. He probably didn't mean half of what he said. He was upset, understandably."

Midna righted her chair and sat again. "All the same, I think I would like to speak to him myself. Especially after this news." She reached for a sheet of parchment and a pen and ink. She began scribbling a letter to Ardane right then and there as the counsel watched, asking for a meeting as soon as possible and explaining that she was upset to hear of his departure and wanted to hear his side of the story. She rolled the parchment up and looked around. "Has anyone got a ribbon I could tie this with?"

Gill stood and bowed to her, "I haven't but I could locate one for you, your highness."

"Never mind," Midna said, "This is too urgent." She removed her hood and stroked her long luxurious orange hair. With a firm yank, she pulled out a few strands and used them to tie the parchment. The counsel gasped.

"Princess what are you doing?" someone asked.

"I'm sending a letter to Ardane, what does it look like I'm doing?" she snapped. "Gill," she said handing him the parchment tied with her hair, "Could you find a messenger for me? Make sure to tell them this is urgent and to deliver this as quickly as they can. Tell them to use the fastest horse in the kingdom."

Gill took the parchment in his hands gingerly. He stared at it gaping.

"Oh for Farore's sake! Hurry!" she said, using a phrase she'd picked up from Link without realizing it. Gill jumped and scuttled out of the room.

A counsel member cleared his throat. "Er... Princess..."

"What?"

"He's...ah...not.." the counsel member cowered under her glare.

"He shouldn't be delivering a message?" Midna stamped her foot impatiently. "Nayru, I hope you all learn how to be a little more responsible! You're not paid to sit around idly and talk of how things _should_ be without taking any actual action toward that goal!"

She stood up, sat briefly and jumped up again, "Din, I've got a headache. I'll be right back," she said and exited the room.

Fahmeb chuckled. "It's nice to have her fire back. I don't think she realizes she's just promoted a servant to counsel. Somehow, I don't think she'll care when she finds out."

* * *

The walk back to Ordon was peaceful. It was an adventure for the children and Link was making an effort to keep things lighthearted for their sake. Ilia was quiet as she walked Epona and Link could feel her gaze on him as they walked. Link had let Colin carry his sword on his back and had let Talo carry the shield. Talo was disappointed with this arrangement, but Link wasn't sure he could trust Talo to wield a sword without doing heavy damage to the other children. So he'd given Talo his cap to even things out and Talo, holding his head high, found a stick to use as a sword instead.

Beth rode on Epona's back and had agreed to wear Link's belt. She giggled at Talo who struggled with holding the heavy shield that hid almost his entire body, running around trying to pick fights with Colin with his stick-sword. Colin ignored him and tried to strike up conversation with Link.

Malo had chosen to stay behind in Kakariko village as Link had suspected he would. He hoped that he would visit Ordon sometimes, if anything to visit his siblings and mother and father. Link suspected that his father would be proud of Malo, but feign anger all the same. He also expected he wouldn't be able to buy anything from the store until Malo visited Ordon at least once to cure his mother's despondence.

"Is it true? Did you really travel up to Snow Peak and meet the snow creature? Was he really mean and scary? Did he try to eat you?" Talo was asking Link.

Link laughed. "You mean Yeto? He's nice, though his wife can be a bit scary at times."

"Wasn't it cold?" Beth asked, "I bet it was freezing! It has to be freezing for snow to form, that's what Luda said."

"It was pretty cold, yes."

"How did you stay warm?" Colin asked.

"I have my secrets," Link said with a wink at Ilia. Ilia suspected he had turned to a wolf when he was at snowpeak. She was the only one who knew his secret, as far as she knew.

"Tell us! Tell us!" Talo demanded.

"You have to be grown up. Then you can grow hair on demand to keep you warm!"

Ilia laughed at this because she knew Link couldn't grow facial hair even if he'd wanted to. She was secretly glad of this. She liked his young face.

But the kids didn't know this and they looked at Link with awe.

"You're brave," Colin said wistfully.

"You're brave too, Colin." Beth said softly.

"Not as brave as Link," Colin said, but blushed nonetheless.

"I'm really not that brave," Link said slowly. Ilia glanced at him with surprise. There was that look again. _Where _had she seen that look? It bothered her.

"Why do you say that, Link?" she asked quietly.

"Most of the time I don't even know what I'm doing. I just fought because I was trying not to die. I had a lot of help. Sometimes I didn't think I could keep going. Once I did almost die..."

Ilia fell quiet. He was opening up again and she didn't want to interrupt him.

"You almost died!" Talo exclaimed. "How!"

But Link was quiet now. That look in his eyes was so clear to Ilia. She could feel tears building up in her own eyes. She wanted to hold him, kiss him, tell him that she was there for him. And she wanted him to do the same for her.

Link noticed that Colin was dragging behind, his back slouching under the weight of the heavy sword. He offered to take it from him and Colin refused. Then, giving Colin a hand, Link swung the boy up on his shoulders, giving him a rest but still allowing him to carry the sword.

"I bet it was that snow beast lady, then," Talo exclaimed, oblivious to the mood change. "I'd fight her!" He said, wielding the shield in front of him and jabbing with his stick-sword. "Hi-yah!" he shouted, stepping forward and tripping himself up on the shield. He fell face first with a loud clang on the metal shield.

Everyone laughed and Beth clapped her hands. "Bravo, Talo, bravo! You show her!"

Talo stood up and pouted and Linked clapped him on the back. "You just need to grow into that shield. I've got another one at home you can use when we get back until then, how does that sound?"

"Yaaay!" Talo cheered and stuck his tongue out at Beth, but he wore the shield on his back the rest of the way home, just to be careful.

It was twilight by the time they reached Ordon and Ilia noticed that Link had grown quiet again. Everyone seemed tired, but she didn't think that was what had Link so quiet, though she was sure that he would use it as an excuse if she asked. He walked the children home, dropping off Beth, then Talo, then Colin.

Rusl greeted Link warmly and thanked him for returning Colin home safely. Link said they could keep the sword at their house for now since he'd taken the other one. They shook hands and then Rusl really looked at Link. A flash of concern crossed his face and he leaned close so only Link could hear him.

"We need to talk."

Link nodded slowly, "Alright."

Rusl gave Link a big hug, then stepped back, smiled warmly and led Colin into the house.

Link felt tears welling up in his eyes and quickly brushed them away. Taking a deep breath he turned toward Ilia.

"I'll walk you home," he said shyly.

Ilia blushed when he reached for her hand but did not protest.

When they reached her house, he looked at her and she felt relieved that the stomach wrenching look in his eyes wasn't there. She smiled shyly at him and he smiled back. He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and she nuzzled her face in his neck.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked softly.

She nodded, blushing, squeezed his hand and went inside. As Link walked away, he could hear Mayor Bo exclaiming loudly from inside the house how much he'd missed her and how he was so happy she was back.

Link remembered with a jolt that the last time he'd seen his daughter she'd shouted at him. At both of them, actually. He smiled at the memory. He wondered if Bo blamed himself at all for what had happened.

As Link approached his house, he felt a warmness spread through him. It was nice to be home. But once he lay down in bed, he began to feel incredibly lonely. This would be the first night he truly spent alone, without Midna by his side, or anyone else, in an entire year. He wanted to just go to sleep, to not let his mind wander back to her- to remind him that she was gone. He couldn't stop the wretched feeling and he bit down on his pillow to muffle the sobs that were rising in his chest.

* * *

**Ok I have to add another note at the end here. First of all, thank you to Mer3Girl for the reviews. I never realized how giddy I get when I get a review. I literally wanted to run down the street in the rain screaming that I got a review on my story but then I thought that might be kind of weird... Oh wait, I write fanfiction. And you guys read fanfiction. We're all weird here I guess. **

**Anyway, to address your reviews, Mer3Girl, I'm an empathetic person, so the things I like to read tend to address that side of me, and that also comes out in my writing. If it makes me emotional, it's gotta be good! I'm not sure yet how Link and Midna are going to get together. But they don't entirely realize their feelings for each other yet. And poor Link is a really confused soul. **

**Anyway to all others, please review! That way, if I do run out into the street screaming that I got a review, well, I'll let you know if that happens. But as you can read, it makes me a very happy girl. Though they're not necessary, nothing quite makes my day like a review on my writing! Even if it is constructive, or you point out that I spelled Kakariko wrong. :D **

**Also, I need a name for the castle town in the Twilight realm. Any suggestions? I played around with "Twirule" but that just sounds silly and like I'm some sort of Twilight fangirl "Twilight rules! Yeah! Team Edward Team Jacob Team Bella!" Uhh... no. If you're a Twilight fan, don't hurt me! **

**Ok I'll really shut up now. Boy I am in a quirky mood today.  
**


	4. Map of the Problematique

**Author's Note: OMG I am SO sorry you guys. I fail at life so much for taking this long to get you an update. It's thanks to the straggled reviews though that got me moving on this again. First I got a "Hey, you should update this." And then a few weeks ago I got another, "It's been two months since you updated this..." And I was like I KNOWWWWWWW I'M HORRIBLE! **

**I do have some legit excuses though. I've been in the hospital three times since I last updated and work and stuff... but... nah those are bad excuses. My real excuse is that I went to a Muse concert back in October and have spent a ridiculous amount of time since then being a rabid fangirl on Tumblr. Bad excuse. I know. But omg it was such a great concert! **

**Anyway...**

**Also. Just a warning. This chapter... It's full of angst. Mmm angst I love angst. I love angst too much. I thrive on the angst. **

**Ok but you've WAITED LONG ENOUGH! So I will shut up and let you read. Sorry for it taking so long. But I also did not want to give you guys a crap chapter. **

* * *

_Only the true leader of the Twilight can shatter the Mirror. You are our Princess and you always will be. You would not have been able to shatter the Mirror if you were not destined to be our true leader. _

These words continued to ring in Midna's mind long after they had been spoken. Only the true leader? She had to question Destiny. If she had been destined to be the true leader of the Twilight, then Destiny had also destined Zant's ascent into power, her imp form, her journeys in the Light world, her meeting Link and Zelda. She concluded this because she could never have become the leader capable of shattering the mirror without those experiences. She had not been good enough before. She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she had tried to shatter the mirror long ago. Would it have actually shattered? Would it have shattered in anticipation of her becoming the true leader? It couldn't have been possible. She would have continued to be the selfish leader. She hadn't been a bad leader, of course, but she certainly had not been comparable to Princess Zelda.

She wished there was someone she could ask about this. She thought about how the mirror, only moments after she had passed through it from the Light world for the last time, rained tiny shards of glass around her. Now there only stood an empty frame. On both sides.

Gods her head hurt. She sat in the dark, rubbing her temples and sipping a glass of water to nurse the pounding headache that had announced itself during the meeting. What she really wanted to do was ask Destiny Herself what exactly She'd thought She was doing twisting their fates around Her fingers. It would be one thing if Destiny only wanted to muddle with _her_ life. But to muddle with _Link?_ That was hardly fair. Why should Link have to deal with her shortcomings and the apparent gripe Destiny had with the way she was running things in the Twilight realm? And by involving Link, Destiny had inadvertently involved every single person who had any sort of relationship with Link. And then there was Zelda. Well, Zelda had always held a lot on her shoulders. Such was the destiny of one fated to royalty. But poor Link... he'd been such an innocent boy, a simple ranch hand with a simple life, his biggest worry in the world was to make sure all the goats made it in the barn each night and to keep the village children safe. And whether Ilia liked him or not.

Midna made a strange wheezing sobbing sound. She hadn't realized tears had been streaming down her face until the ugly sound escaped her throat. She clapped a delicate hand across her mouth hoping no one had heard. Her eyes, shining with tears, darted to the door to make sure it stayed shut. After watching it for a few moments, she relaxed.

"Damn you, Destiny. Why did you have to involve _him?_" she muttered.

"Could it be possible? The beloved Princess Midna is talking to someone who isn't here? May I plead insanity on her behalf?"

Midna nearly jumped out of her skin. As it was, she stood so fast that she stumbled backwards over the chair she'd been sitting in and toppled ungracefully to the floor.

"Who's there?" she whispered hoarsely to what she'd thought had been an empty room.

Ardane was on top of her faster than she could say "Mirror of Twilight." His large hands gripped her shoulders so hard he was cutting off her circulation and his knee was pressing dangerously on her stomach.

"Ardane?" she choked out. Her tear stained eyes wide with terror as she tried to make out his looming face in the darkened room. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"Something I'd thought Zant had taken care of a long time ago," he said, one of his hands creeping over her throat. She tried to scream but he put all of his weight on the knee that pressed on her stomach. She coughed and gasped in pain. She fought to stay conscious through the blinding pain. She felt his cold hand lock over her throat. Fighting her pain, she jerked her knee into his groin as hard as she could. He grunted. It was a weak attempt but it seemed to startle him enough to loosen his grip for a moment. She wriggled out from under him and managed to get herself on her hands and knees but he regained his composure. He grabbed her ankle, pulling her roughly back toward him. He seized her hair roughly and pulled her head back at a sharp angle. She whimpered in pain.

"I'm surprised you sacrificed some of this beautiful hair to write little old me a letter. Where is your prideful vanity, Princess?"

"H-how?" she squeaked as he pulled back harder, exposing her delicate throat, his knee now pressing on the small of her back. She gasped as he pressed down. "I just barely sent that!" she said rasped.

Ardane leaned down to whisper in her ear and she could hear the smile in his voice. "Oh I intercepted your little servant on his way out. Tell me, Princess, how you managed to get the counsel to reject me while convincing them to accept a mere servant into their ranks?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she hissed. "What did you do to him?"

"Don't you worry your precious heart, Princess, he doesn't remember a thing. I altered his memory just slightly." Midna's eyes, which had grown quickly accustomed to the dark saw a shadow over her eyes as his other hand came down over her face from behind. "Just like I'm going to do to you, my dear."

Midna felt lightheaded as her panic fluttered through her entire being. She tried to scream again but her breath only came out as a pathetic wheeze. She couldn't seem to draw enough breath in her panic and her chest began to heave in a desperate attempt to compensate. She could feel his magical energy electrifying the air around them and could feel it strongly over her eyes. She struggled again to get away from him, but his knee kept pressing harder and harder into her back and he was pulling on her hair so hard she was afraid he might snap her neck.

"Stop fighting me, Midna. You know I'm capable. Who else would have erased the memory of your little Light World friend's girlfriend?"

Light world friend? She could feel her memory already getting hazy. Light world...

Girlfriend?

Who had a girlfriend in the Light world?

Light...?

_Link!_

_LINK!_

Suddenly all chaos erupted. Midna's memories flushed back into her mind and she realized she had free movement again. She managed to pull herself to her hands and knees and heaved. Finally she was able to draw in the deep breath she'd been desperately seeking. She looked down at her hands and saw that she was glowing and slowly brought them to her face. She stared in wonder at the way she was emitting light. She could hear a weird choking noise behind her and slowly turned her head. She saw Ardane suspended in mid air, a giant orange hand gripped around his neck. Trying to find where the hand was coming from she slowly traced her eyes along the arm until she could touch it. Following it with her hand she found herself touching the back of her head. It all seemed as if everything was in slow motion and very surreal before she realized that she was the one choking Ardane. With wide eyes she watched in horror as the life seemed to drain out of the former chancellor. She squeezed her eyes shut and placed her hands over her ears to block out his horrible choking sound.

_Stop!_

_Stop! How do I make it stop?_

She dared open one eye to glace at the giant orange hand again and watched the chancellor drop to the ground and the orange hand shrunk back. Trembling, Midna sank to her knees and crawled to Ardane, touching his pale face.

She didn't know that she could do that. She'd had that power as an imp, but it seemed so much more powerful now, and was somehow now completely uncontrollable. It'd been more of a substitute form of weak magic as an imp. She had no idea it had been transferable to her true form. Had she always been able to do that in human form and just hadn't known it?

Oh _Gods! _

Midna staggered back to her feet and backed out of the room. She backed through the doorway, letting the door slam shut and backed slowly across the carpeted hallway, hitting her back against the opposite wall, staring horrified at the door to that room.

"Princess! Gods what happened to you?"

Midna shook her head slowly, not taking her eyes off the doorway.

"Are you alright? Princess?"

"Midna?"

"Is she alright? Someone get help!"

"Get Soli!"

Midna felt herself sinking down against the wall and suddenly felt warm arms catch her and slowly lower her to the ground.

"Miss! Miss! It's Soli! Miss!" Midna felt those warm hands patting her cheeks and finally managed to tear her gaze off the door and met Soli's concerned gaze.

"I think I killed him," she whispered hoarsely. "I didn't mean to..." Soli reached for her trembling hands and squeezed them tightly.

* * *

Rusl rose early the next morning to walk down to Link's place. Somehow, he felt it would give them more privacy to talk before the rest of the quaint village rose for the day. But they needed to talk, that was certain.

Rusl had taken the boy under his wing when he turned up in Ordon from out of nowhere at a young age owning nothing but the clothes on his back and his name. Link hadn't known how he'd gotten there, and no one else seemed to know where he'd come from either. He hadn't seemed traumatized by any sort of significant event and that worried Rusl. What child had no parents and wasn't somehow affected by that? Rusl worried that he was hiding something very deep down inside of him and that was a very unhealthy thing for a child to do. It was because of this that Rusl had made sure that he paid close attention to Link while he was growing up, and always offered a listening ear and fatherly advice to the boy. Yet Rusl had waited on edge all these years for some sort of unstable emotional outburst to occur and it never did. He finally concluded that either Link was very good at hiding it or he truly had no story, which was absolutely bizarre.

But Link had always been very mature and content. Even when they'd met throughout the last year, Rusl hadn't noticed any real emotion occurring except where it came to Ilia. But Ilia was safe and her memory returned, and Link had looked more disheartened last night than he had ever let Rusl see. Was it possible that after all these years, his lost past had finally caught up with him during the time on his long journey? Rusl was worried.

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when Rusl knocked at Link's door. To his surprise he didn't have to wait long for Link to open the door. He looked as though he'd gotten less sleep than Rusl had. He had dark shadows under his eyes and his hair was standing on end. Rusl gave him a gentle, fatherly smile that Link only half-heartedly returned.

"Rough night?" he asked as Link shoved his feet into his shoes, reading Rusl's mind that they would be taking a walk. Link only grunted.

Rusl expected some small talk as they walked but he was surprised when he didn't get it. It was unlike Link. Before, he'd never let silence fall between them. Even if it was talk about Colin or the other village children, Link would always try to keep a conversation lighthearted. And normally, if something was bothering Link he would speak up about it, get it out of the way, and move on. But that didn't happen either. And something was definitely bothering him. And hadn't Link agreed last night to have a talk today? So why was he putting up walls now? The longer they walked, the more sullen Link got. The tension between them was like an ominous black cloud.

Finally Rusl had to say something. "Alright. So you don't want to talk. Let's just catch up then. What have you been up to all this last year?"

"Nothing."

It was such a teenaged boy response that it completely threw Rusl. He almost laughed. He'd never considered Link to be a teenage boy. He'd seemed to skip past that developmental stage entirely. Even before Link was a teenager, Rusl had needed to remind himself that Link was still a boy. 'Nothing' was more of an answer that he'd expect to come from Talo, when Talo became a teenager someday. It was sometimes Talo's reply even now.

But Link wasn't Talo. Link was mature and even last night he'd been more open than he was now. At least, as best as Rusl could judge in the short time they'd conversed. But Link was throwing up a thick, solid wall now and it was so unlike him Rusl didn't know how to respond. What could possibly have happened in the course of one night that could shut him down this much?

"Link..." Rusl finally said softly. "Last night, you agreed we needed to talk... what is going on? How can I help if you won't say what's bothering you? And don't tell me that nothing's bothering you. I highly doubt you've been doing 'Nothing' all year."

"I don't think _you_ can help me," Link said curtly. Rusl was thrown again. Was this even the same kid he'd helped raise? Where was this sharp attitude coming from?

"Who can?" Rusl whispered, stopping now and gazing hard at Link. The boy was holding himself as if he'd crack and fall apart at any moment and it was the only way he could stay together. Rusl waited for him to meet his gaze, but Link stared fixedly at the ground.

"Ilia. And if she can't help me, no one can,"

Link was starting to turn away from Rusl now and Rusl grabbed his arm firmly, turning him back to face him. It was only now that Link finally met Rusl's gaze- a glare that shocked him deeply.

"Why Ilia?" Rusl whispered.

"Because if I can't love her, then..." Link's voice trailed off.

"Then what...?"

"Then I am the most despicable person- I don't know!" Link cried, taking a strange shuddering breath. "Damnit, Rusl, don't make me talk about this! I can't-" His expression was pained now and he was talking in a rush. "I'm trying! I don't know if I can! I want to! I know I should! I don't know if I can!" Link yanked his arm out of Rusl's grip, but he yanked too hard and staggered backwards. His breathing was haggard and he wiped his eyes on his arm. Or at least, Rusl thought he did. The action was fast, as though he was trying to hide it.

"Whoa, kid," Rusl said gently now, which sparked something of a hiccup from Link. It had been a long time since Rusl had pulled out the term 'kid' when addressing Link. Link was obviously not a kid and had not been for a long time. But Rusl had always refrained from using the term 'son' with Link because he wasn't. And when Link had first wandered into the village, he really had been just a 'kid'. And to the other villagers, 'that kid'. With Rusl though, it had become a term of endearment over the years. And it had always been a term he'd pulled out if he'd ever needed to comfort Link in the past. And this was clearly a time of needed comfort. "Whoa...slow down...You're not making any sense..."

"I know! I'm being _so_ _stupid! _I _hate_ myself!" Link's voice was strained and this made Rusl fidget. He'd never handled tears well and prayed the kid could hold it together. This was different than the tears of physical pain that Colin sometimes cried. This was the sound of someone shattering from the inside out.

"No, kid, no, no... Link..."

Link shook his head and a dark laugh emitted out of him, "Kid..."

Rusl waited, not sure what to expect.

"What 'kid' even knows what this...this...this _life._.. I don't even _know_... I can't even...agghh!" Link stopped, frustrated. He lowered himself to the ground, hugging his legs to his chest and resting his forehead on his knees. "What kid _kills? _What kid travels alone, yet never alone with an imp as his guide, never knowing exactly what he's doing, but somehow coming out on top? What kid conquers evil and can't conquer love? What kid, Rusl? What kid?"

Bewildered and flustered, Rusl stared at Link. His talk was jumbled and confusing. And yet as much of a hormonal teenager as Link was acting, his words were far more adult than Rusl had ever expected to hear. Far more complicated than a boy of just eighteen should know and he _was_ still a boy, Rusl realized. Rusl moved to sit next to Link and placed his hand on Link's shoulder.

"_This_ kid. _This_ kid is brave. _This_ kid is selfless."

"No he's not! He's selfish and stupid!"

"Link... why do you say that?"

"Because I want what I can't have and I don't want what I can."

"What can't you have? What in this world is there you can't get for yourself, Link? You've always been a go getter. There is nothing out of your reach."

"That's the problem! What I want isn't in this world!"

"I don't understand, kid..."

"You wouldn't. It doesn't matter..."

"It does matter. It matters to me. Kid, you're going to pieces and I don't even know _why_... I'm worried. _You_ matter to me."

"Go care about your own kids," Link snapped.

Rusl flinched as though he'd been slapped. This outburst of emotion regarding his part in raising Link had never exposed itself before no matter how much Rusl had expected it years ago. He'd faced this day expecting it, yet when he heard it, it stung more than he'd anticipated.

Link seemed to sense Rusl's reaction because he snapped his head up and wildly scrutinized the older man's face.

"No! No no, Rusl, I don't mean it like that! I just mean... don't waste your time on me, you've got your own family to worry about. And a new baby. And I'll just... figure it out for myself." He rubbed his temples. "People only get hurt when they try to help me," he muttered.

"Like who?" Rusl probed, hoping he could pull more information out of Link.

"Like...Midna. And Zelda. Ilia. And Colin. I mean, for Din's sake, he wants to try and be more like me and then goes and gets hurt! Trying to be more like me! I can't stand it!"

"Link, you can't be protective of him forever. I'm a darn proud father to know my son strives to be more like you, Link. And I _know_ that Colin does not regret any moment he tried to be more like you. I think you know that too, deep down."

He'd done it, Rusl had. He'd said the words that Link needed to hear. At least he thought he did, because Link blushed and a small smile crept up on his face now. It took practice to say the right thing, to be fatherly. But he was a natural it. Rusl pushed a little farther.

"Who is Midna, Link?"

In an instant, Link's face darkened. He looked away from Rusl again and didn't answer. His reaction though, was all Rusl needed to see. Whoever this Midna person was, was the root of Link's problem.

Rusl sighed, "Ok. You said you'd figure it out yourself. What's your plan?"

This was an activity they'd done before. When Link was still young, Rusl often guided Link in creating a plan to solve a problem. As Link got older, Rusl let Link begin to make the plans on his own. It was a learning process until it was no longer a necessary activity. In normal circumstances. These were not normal circumstances. Rusl genuinely wanted to know what Link was planning to do about his problem.

"I don't know..."

"Think of one."

Tough love. Rusl was a gentle man, but sometimes the tough love worked far more efficiently than gentle words. And he felt pretty sure Link recognized when he was using this tactic, and that he used it because he cared. He hoped. In any case Link pondered this for quite some time and Rusl let him. When Link finally spoke he was nervous, hesitant.

"You used to teach me... about confidence... how if you fake it long enough, it becomes natural and you longer have to fake it. How did you used to say...?"

"Fake it until you make it," Rusl interjected.

"That. I think that's what I have to do."

"In regards to...?"

Link looked pained now. "You'll think badly of me..."

"Never, kid. Never."

Link hesitated, glanced nervously at Rusl, then down at his hands. "Ilia," he whispered.

"Oh."

Oh. Rusl sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a brief moment. _Oh._

"I knew it!" Link's voice cracked through the heavy silence like a whip and he staggered to his feet, backing away from Rusl.

Rusl tried to grab for his arm and Link shied away, "No! Link! It's not..."

"I'm a horrible person! You think I'm awful! I'll make it work, I will! I can handle it... I have to..."

Rusl was getting to his feet. It took him longer. Being an older man, age did not work in his favor for stealthiness and ease of the task. And Link looked as if he was going to run away from the situation any minute. He was already backing away too fast. Rusl had pushed his luck too far.

"Link, wait, please," he grunted, finally straightening his now stiff joints.

"I said I'll make it work! I won't hurt her! I'll make her happy!" Links voice cracked again, full of anguish. It pained Rusl deeply because his anguish was not that of a child but an adult. A fully understanding adult. He'd been wrong to assume that Link was immune to the mood swings of a teenager. But he'd been wrong to assume Link was still a kid too. He was an adult, exposed to something worth emotional anguish for the first time. Not the over dramatized emotions of a teenager. It left Rusl more and more curious as to what exactly had happened over the last year. And yet it still had nothing to do with his mysterious past. Did he really just not have a past at all?

"Link you would make any woman a happy woman. I know that. You would never hurt anyone. You're too noble. You're a hero in everyones eyes. Including mine, Link. My concern isn't for Ilia as much as it is for _you_."

"I never _asked _to be a hero! I never signed up for that! And I...love...loved Ilia."

"I want you to be happy, Link."

"I _am_ happy! I'm home, the children are home safe, Ilia has her memory back, everything is normal again. And I can just go back to my sweet boring life as it was before. Not a stupid hero."

"Are you? Happy?"

Link simply stared at Rusl, his mouth hanging open, dumbfounded. "I just said..."

"Are you _really?_"

Link's mouth snapped shut in a grimace.

Rusl only gave him a knowing and meaningful gaze. It was not his purpose to rub things in or make decisions for Link. Link had to make his own meanings and his own decisions. Rusl had faith that he would come around, but things were perhaps a bit too fresh right now for them to really have a good conversation.

"Why don't we talk again when you've had some time to think and when you're ready?" he suggested.

"There's nothing to think about," Link grumbled.

Rusl finally had to chuckle.

"What? What are you laughing at? I don't see what's so funny."

This had Rusl bellowing. Eventually he caught his breath and wiped a tear of laughter from his eye. "You."

"Me?"

"Yes. In all the years I've known you I waited for you to act like a teenager. And it isn't until you're actually an adult that you do. I'm relieved."

Link frowned. "Sorry."

"What are you sorry for? Being human?"

Link was quiet.

"Look. Again, I'm not entirely sure what you've been doing this last year. Being called upon by the Goddesses or whomever. We _do_ talk down at Telma's bar, you know. I know that mark on your hand means something. But you're allowed to be human. At least around me. Ok, kid? So lighten up."

Link traced the triforce symbol on his hand, then smiled sheepishly at Rusl. "Ok, just don't tell anyone else about my super powers."

Rusl chuckled, shook his head and put his arm around Link's shoulder. "Alright, kid, let's go have a _good_ day today."

And Rusl knew that he would make the effort. That he would have regardless of their talk. He was still worried but he admired the kid. Link wasn't worried about people thinking that he was human. He was worried about people thinking that he wasn't. And yet, he knew, that when Link saw Ilia again, he would fake it. And that's exactly what happened when they returned to the village.

Ilia had been waiting for him, leaning patiently against a tree outside of Link's house, gently stroking Epona. Link greeted her enthusiastically. And when he gave her a quick peck on the cheek, she blushed deeply. Link took her hand and as he and Rusl parted ways, despite his warm thank-you's and goodbyes, he wouldn't meet Rusl's eyes.

Rusl frowned as he watched the two walk away. Link was doing exactly as he said he would, faking it until he made it. But only someone who knew Link the way that Rusl did would know it. Ilia might, if she didn't want so badly what Link was giving her. Rusl worried that this could only end in pain. For Ilia, yes, but even more for Link. The thought weighed heavy on Rusl's mind all day.

When he returned home that evening after his long day's work, Uli sensed it right away.

"How was your chat with Link?" she asked, giving him a welcome home kiss before going back to fixing dinner.

Rusl sighed. "I worry about him."

"I know you do. I think he'll be alright. You know he's so mature... Ouch! Whoops!" Uli cried as she dropped the cover from the pot she'd been stirring on the floor. She'd burned herself and had her finger in her mouth. "Oh damn, I woke the baby."

"I'll take care of her, don't worry," Rusl said softly, going to the crying baby in the other room. Gently he picked up his newborn daughter. They'd named her Melany but everyone called her Mely for short. Rusl's mild nature helped calm the crying child- something that tended to be difficult for fathers to do with newborns. He bounced the little girl up and down, and she cooed with glee.

Uli watched the father and daughter with a soft smile on her face. Rusl was a good father. Link would be fine as long as he had Rusl's guidance, she felt sure. She would have to tell Rusl so later.

* * *

**Author's Note (Again): Ok I didn't want to waste all your time up there at the top. I know some of you have expressed concern with the characters being a bit out of character, don't worry, I have plans for them. For example, Midna just made a really big mistake and now she realizes it. And... ok I won't give away too much. Really. I won't. **

**Also... I did in fact fail at remembering some details of the game. Like that Link actually went to the Twilight in the game. (I've also been replaying it and I'm like oh yeah... but that makes some of my story not canon but...we'll just go with it) That did play a bit part in my taking so long to start this up again because I got all down about how much I missed such an important detail and that there was no city surrounding the palace in the Twilight and it wasn't an exact imprint of the light world and maybe I got Link to the Past slightly confused there.**

**I know I know... how do you do that, you're wondering. Sorry readers, for my fail on that one.**

**Dear Mer3Girl, THANK YOU FOR YOUR OFFER! Yes I would love to have a beta reader. I would have gotten this chapter to you only I felt so horrible for it have taken this long for me to get it out I thought I'd better publish it and let you have the next chapter. I do not know how to do that whole beta reader thing though. But I'm sure I'll figure it out. **

**Ok. For real, I'm out. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I am going to try so hard to get the next one to you in less than two months. I can't make any promises. But I'm going to try. Really hard. Give me reviews that say things like "Damnit, update!" because that helps. Seriously. **

**Cheers!  
**


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